I was born with a reading list i will never finish – Maud Casey

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Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Abby Clements

Childhood friends Laurie and Rachel used to be inseparable – but their lives have taken very different paths since they picked up their A-level results together. Now thirty-five, they have all but fallen out of touch; glamorous single girl Laurie is based in London and dedicated to her career in fashion; Rachel seemingly living the family idyll in Yorkshire.

But when Rachel’s mother-in-law needs urgent treatment in London, and disasters at work and in her love life mean Laurie needs to flee, a house swap falls into place. Soon gentle Rachel is far from the village bake sales, braving the city’s mean streets while trying to keep her marriage and family together; while Laurie attempts to work an Aga, befriend the wary village locals – and forget the man who seems intent on breaking her heart. Will their relationships survive this test? And will they make it home for Christmas?

My Perspective

As i mentioned in The Christmas Bake Off by Abby Clements, I was looking forward to reading Meet Me Under The Mistletoe and i had great expectations of it as i had enjoyed The Christmas Bake Off so much.

Meet Me Under The Mistletoe is about both Rachel and Laurie, best friends from school who are now living totally different lives – Rachel in a little village in Yorkshire and Laurie in London. However both of them experience a life changing event about a month before Christmas, forcing them to reconnect and learn more about themselves than they’d thought.

I enjoyed this story. It was well written, lighthearted and interesting. It was probably slightly predictable however I found that I was kept guessing throughout.

Rachel was easy to like however there were moments where I found her slightly frustrating. I guess mothers who have been in her position would relate to and understand her more than I could. At first I found it hard to like Laurie however as I got to know her more I warmed to her and by the end, really liked her. The other characters were well written.

I like books like this that have more than one main character and how the story keeps switching between them. It was done really well in this instance, as well as the added emails and texts.

Overall it was a lighthearted and enjoyable read and i would definitely recommend it if you like chick lit.